Category Archives: Noir Comics

Criminal: Bad Night by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips is the best volume in the series. This arc is the one that sent me over the edge from “series-admirer” to “series fanboy.” Phillips’ art is moody and personal, as dreary and sleep deprived as the insomniac protagonist, and Brubaker’s pulp style never disappoints. The book is riddled with plot twists and heinous discoveries, and is a first-hand witness of a man’s plummet into madness.

(via comicsforserious.blogspot.com)

Here’s an overview of the plot:

Jacob Kurtz is a nearly crippled widower with a past proclivity for counterfeiting. He spends his days writing a serial-style comic called “Frank Kafka” for the local paper and his nights trying fruitlessly to sleep. He’s completely caged by his loneliness and unwavering routine. His health problems are largely a result of an undeserved beating he received when it was believed that he murdered his wife, in reality she had been the victim of an unfortunate car accident that left her body hidden for months. Now, Jacob is a recluse who’s seeking nothing by privacy and four hours of sleep a day; if he can get it. So absorbed in his own timeless drudgery, he’s completely unprepared for the one Bad Night.

(via comicsforserious.blogspot.com)

He visits a local diner nearly every night, takes his normal spot at the bar and checks the day’s paper for his latest “Kafka” installment. Behind him in a booth of their own, a man shouts obscenities at a woman and perches on the edge of violence. Tensions inevitably flare, but are quickly defused when the couple are expelled from the restaurant. Jacob puts this strange encounter from his mind, but is quickly reminded when he drives past the woman from the diner walking home in the rain. The inciting incident for the whole noir comic is when he decides to offer her a ride.

(via comicsforserious.blogspot.com)

I could do a whole noir definition run-down on this graphic novel, but it’s the fourth book in the series and I’ve already done it for the three previous. Ed Brubaker who is a master noir story-teller, he doesn’t need me to point out why. It’s noir, okay? Trust me. Better yet, trust Brubaker and Phillips. Additionally, I don’t want to ruin the plot of this one. It’s one of those books you wish you could go back and experience again for the first time. Once you know the end, you see it from the beginning.

(via comicartappreciation.tumblr.com)

Bad Night is one of the greatest written examples of a femme fatale in the genre. She’s text-book perfection as far as plot goes, and Jacob’s interactions with her couldn’t be better. This book is cerebral noir, most of the action happens between the ears, and it’s that much more frightening because we’ve been down those dark corridors in our own psyche. The only difference is, Jacob believes in what he finds there, and swallows wholesale the rationalizations and imagined conspiracies. But we never do that, we’re smarter than that…aren’t we?

I don’t think I need to restate how much I love the Max Payne series or Sam Lake, the original series author. A month ago, around the same time I was pre-ordering Max Payne 3 for xbox 360, I learned from a Rockstar Games press release that Dan Houser and Sam Lake would be co-writing a free Max Payne digital comic book. The comic is now available. Here is the link:

Rather than do a full noir definition run-down on the comic, I’ll just provide my initial impressions based upon the first issue of this ongoing digital project. All the screen caps are my own, and I hope they illustrate the sections of the noir comic that I found most rewarding.

Same old Pain.

One of the biggest fears I’ve had about the pending release of the Max Payne 3 video game is the lack of Sam Lake on the development team. The first two games drew their noir potency from his ink, and the thought of a Max Payne story without his involvement seemed wrong. This comic set me at ease. The setting is a twisting corridor of torturous flash-backs, like the revelations of a mad man. Max has been through hell, and in “After the Fall” he’s still there, held captive by demons old and new. As you read his dark monologues, you’ll hear the flat baritone of James McCaffrey and you’ll smile. Nothing important has changed, and that’s exactly the way it should be.

Painkillers

Patricide?

The most intriguing aspect of this first issue is the glimpse we are given into the fear-riddled childhood of the anti-hero. We learn that his abusive father was an alcoholic and the cause of his mother’s early death. The story then takes an even more violent turn and suggests that Max may have been his father’s executioner, a taker of vengeance on behalf of his mother. Understanding his childhood, at least in part, adds new depth to the tragedy of his wife and infant’s deaths. For in that depth we can see his fear of becoming his father; his fear of becoming a harmer of loved ones.

Patricide

Art noir.

The panels are excellent, and are beautiful examples of noir art. The colors are moody and atmospheric, especially during the flashback scenes. I always value the noir comics that can tell more in a panel then they can with dialogue. Max Payne: After the Fall accomplishes this.

Old Soldier

Demons.

Ultimately, we are privy to a Max that is older and even more deranged and damaged than before. He’s swimming in an ocean of addiction, self pity, and violence. He’s a man with a death wish and a guardian devil over his shoulder, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

**The noir comic is completely free, what are you waiting for? Go get it:

Thank you for participating and supporting noirWhale.com! Nina Mashurova is this drawings winner! Congrats! Please come back in the future for more giveaway details.

I woke up this morning and the weather was so beautiful I decided to do another Noir Comics giveaway! Those of you who’ve participated before know the score, I’m giving away some great noir comics absolutely FREE. Here are the four books included:

Luna Park by Kevin Baker and Danijel Zezelj (Trade Paperback)

Acts of Violence: An Anthology of Crime Comics by Various Authors (Trade Paperback)

Blacksadby Juan Diaz Canales and Junjo Guarnido is an incredibly fine piece of noir. I’ll begin by thanking Zach S., without whom I would be completely ignorant of such a wonderful noir comic. Although the creators are Spaniards, Blacksad was initially published in France, and has since seen dozens of international editions and incomparable acclaim worldwide.

Blacksad (The Cover)

The hardcover edition that I own is a gathering of three stories written about the private-eye John Blacksad; “Somewhere Within the Shadows”, “Arctic Nation”, and “Red Soul”. Each of the characters are anthropomorphic, and even when famous individuals from history appear in the story, they do so in animal fashion. Don’t be fooled by the cartoonistic quality of the art, because the story is as gritty and real as any noir lover could desire.

“Rather than animals who act like people, the creators’ approach is predicated on people who resemble animals.”

-Jim Steranko

Junjo Guarnido’s style is deeply emotional, and each panel builds upon the last. I was surprised by how his art took me to my childhood, and I learned that this is largely in part because of his work at Disney.

John Blacksad (via paul-charles-smith.com)

Here is a brief teaser of each story:

“Somewhere Within the Shadows”

A famous actress and former lover of John Blacksad is found brutally murdered. Although their relationship ended years ago, the wound is fresh and painful, and the event sends the private-eye spiraling into a cold hell that he must embrace to deal lasting justice on her behalf.

Arctic Nation (via catsuka.com)

“Arctic Nation”

Racial tensions boil violently beneath the surface of an idealistic neighborhood, and John Blacksad is tasked with peeling back the veneer. He plumbs the depths of corruption, sexual depravity, and racially charged atrocity, eventually revealing a secret that has been hidden for 20 years.

Alma Mayer (Edited)

“Red Soul”

At the height of the “Red Scare”, John Blacksad finds himself tangled in a web of communist sympathizers and the powers that wish them dead. While the future peace between the world’s superpowers hangs in the balance, John finds a woman and a plot that will make him risk everything.

Quintessential noir genre underworld. Crime scenes, city streets, posh mansions, and ghetto slums. The backgrounds are just as detailed and vibrant as the characters. The setting literally leaps out of the panels.

Somewhere Within the Shadows (via comicsworthreading.com)

2) The Anti-Hero

John Blacksad is a brooding black cat. He’s loyal, sensitive, strong, and intelligent, but he’s betrayed by his own code in the end. Sacrificing for the greater good may have seemed like the right decision, but it leaves the reader with the bleakest ending possible. Deliciously noir.

3) The Femme Fatale

Natalia Willford may seem the natural choice for the femme fatale because she causes so much turmoil for John in “Somwhere Within the Shadows” (she’s the actress/ex-lover that is murdered). But, even though Natalia causes him to kill in cold blood, Alma Mayer seems the better femme fatale (the woman who appears in “Red Soul”). When they meet she is engaged to be married, but she quickly develops an affair with John. Theirs is a tragic love, and the emptiness of lost love pervades the last pages of the noir comic.

Red Soul, Hitler's Cameo

4) Misogyny

Classic misogyny and old-school masculinity make dirty bedfellows in Blacksad. Spousal abuse, rape, and infidelity all have a part within the story.

5) Redemption

Blacksad is constantly propelled by the theme of redemption. The tragedy is that most of the redemption he seeks is not to be had. For instance, the entire first story he is consumed with redeeming the irredeemable: saving Natalia. Because she has already met her end, his only sense of redemption can come through pursuing justice against her killer. His victory is hollow because it reverses nothing.

Justice. (via comicvine.com)

6) Eroticism

Sexuality exists throughout Blacksad, but the heaviest dose appears in “Arctic Nation”. The central issues of the plot revolve around infidelity, clandestine affairs, and pedophilia.

7) Loss of Innocence

There is a moment of lost innocence in each of the three stories, but the most powerful one is felt in “Red Soul”. A man who aided in the creation of the Atomic Bomb (Lieber) revisits his old neighbor only to find that it has become a slum of humanity. He’s confronted by poverty and the ruins of his father’s church, and it overwhelms him. His emotions are expertly captured by Guarnido, and the panel is poignant.

Lieber's lost innocence

8 ) Racism

“Arctic Nation” is easily the best of the three stories, and is completely woven together by racism. It’s funny how simple and silly the racial question appears when presented in the anthropomorphic format. Essentially, animals with white fur hate animals with black fur. I absolutely loved the complex layers of plot and social anxiety present in this section. It’s a masterpiece.

9) Smoke

John Blacksad smokes like a chimney, just like any great detective should.

Arctic Nation, Lynching (via comicwatcher.com)

10) Emasculation

The theme of emasculation is also very constant throughout each of the chapters. Powerful men fear the loss of their power, and it drives them to desperate ends. Often very depraved ends.

First, let me admit that I deserve no credit for finding this amazing noir comic. I have several friends who are in the business of keeping an eye out for anything noir genre related, and then sending it my way. So, Matt P, thanks buddy.

Victor Santos is a very talented artist who has made a name for himself in the international comics industry. He’s worked with American authors such as Brian Azzarello, Bryan Glass, and Mike Oeming.

“He has won six awards of the Barcelona international comic convention and three in the Madrid con. He also won the Dolmen magazine best artist critics´award.”

Page 6

Polar is a classically vibrant approach to noir comics. Its minimalistic style and clear cut panels deliver a mood that is at once bleak and riveting. No written script or dialogue exists in the story, and thus crosses all language boundaries. Victor explains his approach,

The main character is Black Kaiser, an international hitman born in the same titled graphic novel, published by Planeta-De-Agostini in Spain and Italy in 2010.”

Page 16

Does it hold up the noir definition? Here are a few of the most prevalent noir themes:

The Seedy Underworld

A lone and secluded cabin folded in blankets of snow is the setting of Polar. A hardened hit squad arrives on the outskirts of the tree line as a strange visitor is deposited at the front door by a snowmobile. Inside, the cabin is warm and dark. The silence of the characters is harmonious with the silence of the snow bound wilderness. The entire color pallet of the setting is black, white, and red (very Frank Miller-esque), and highlights the light and shadow requisite of any good noir setting. It’s magnificent.

The Anti-Hero

Black Kaiser is a ruggedly handsome, eye-patched brute. He’s poised on the edge of violence; always a hairsbreadth from danger.

The Femme Fatale

The strange visitor sheds her coat to reveal a lingerie-clad goddess. She wastes no time putting Black Kaiser to bed. With razor blade hidden in cheek, she is the epitome of the femme fatale archetype: Beautiful, alluring, manipulative, and deadly.

Page 9

Victor Santos updates this noir comic with new pages every Monday and Thursday. PLEASE head over and support him so he never stops!

Scarletby Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev is a very interesting noir comic. It takes the classic inner-monologue approach of pulp fame and turns it conversational. The lead character, Scarlet, a twenty-something anarchist bent on revenge speaks directly to the reader for the majority of the comic. She places the reader in the scene beside her, and simultaneously explains her actions and confesses her sins. She seems compelled to defend herself, and even more compelled to convince the reader that her intentions are noble. The first scene: she kills a cop.

Speaking directly to the reader

Scarlet recounts her tragic history, and slowly reveals the events that led her to her current authority-figure murdering state. We learn that she and her friends were singled out by a drug-addled policemen with horrid intentions, and that when her boyfriend Gabriel resisted arrest he and Scarlet were gunned down. Weeks later, Scarlet wakes on a cot in a hospital ward to the news that Gabriel didn’t survive and his killer is being heralded as a hero. Turns out the police department planted evidence on her boyfriend after they killed him, and made it look like an amazing bust for Officer Gary Dunes.

Scarlet is the anti-hero of this noir comic. She will not allow Detective Gary Dunes to get away with the murder of her love, and she has the entire Portland Police Department in her cross-hairs.

utilizing her assets

3) The Femme Fatale

She is also the femme fatale of the story. Scarlet is very conscious of her sexuality and charisma and is unafraid of using both to accomplish her ends. At one point in the comic she puts her flesh on display at Dunes’ local haunt and waits for him to take the bait. He’s sorry he did.

4) Misogyny

A moderate amount of misogyny exists in the story. Scarlet is completely under-estimated because she is a young female. Like most male-created female protagonists she is sexy and dresses to embellish her more flattering features. Also, the fact that the entire story is born out of the death of a man seems a touch male-centric (as if a woman’s life is over if she loses her man).

Detective Dunes caught in Scarlet's web

5) Redemption

Scarlet is nothing more than a redemption story. Its timing is fascinating, because the last year has seen a vast increase in the number of protests and revolutions throughout the world. This story re-imagines the peaceful gathering as a violent force that cannot be stopped, and looks at current governmental authority as more than a modicum of tyranny. Initially, Scarlet wants to redeem the murder of the only man she ever loved. She fights selfishly, and unintentionally her cause becomes selfless as she begins to target the corrupted core of the government for the good of the common people.

6) Eroticism

Just a touch of sexuality throughout. Nothing I would consider erotic.

Among her Followers

7) Loss of Innocence

Scarlet’s world is shattered when she discovers that the police are not “the good guys.” Her world view up to that point then becomes entirely suspect, and her trajectory is altered forever.

8 ) Racism

None.

Scarlet (via comiclist.com)

9) Smoke

An afterthought.

10) Emasculation

Because the main character is a female, she is untouched by this theme. I could say that her actions emasculate the mayor, the current police force, and the government as a whole but that feels like a stretch.

In conclusion I will say that I am looking forward to book 2 of Scarlet. My only problem with the story is the fact that she spends so much of her time talking to the reader. It’s unsettling, and really made me uncomfortable at points….maybe that was the idea all along. Scarlet is another great addition to the noir comics genre.

Criminal: The Dead and The Dying is a completely magnificent noir comic. Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips have a raw chemistry that lends authority to their comics; You’ll feel like you picked up a piece of vintage noir crime fiction off the shelf next to Hammett, Chandler, and Cain. I know that I am a hopeless Brubaker fanboy but I believe that this series defends itself (so back-up haters).

In this volume, the story worms into the 1970’s and focuses on the lives of the “old guard” of Center City. This previous generation of criminals is just as dysfunctional, corrupt, and depraved as the current. We are made privy to decisions that created the outcomes experienced in the previous two volumes, and the curtain is drawn back on the complex connections between each of the characters and their underworld. Jake “Gnarly” Brown, Teeg Lawless, and Danica Briggs are painted in bold unforgiving strokes and chipped by adversity in one of the most heart-wrenching plot-lines yet.

The Trade Paperback Cover

Second Chance in Hell

From the previous volumes, Jake “Gnarly” Brown is known to be the barkeep/owner of The Undertow in Center City. This chapter of The Dead and The Dying bridges the gap between his “up-and-coming” career as a talented boxer and his eventual disgraceful post as the washed up operator of a seedy establishment. It’s revealed that Gnarly’s father was hired muscle for Walter Hyde in the 1950’s and led to his successful rise to the top of the crime world. Thus, for good or bad, the Brown and Hyde families became inseparably connected. Growing up, Gnarly was great friends with Sebastian Hyde (Walter’s son and future crime lord), but their relationship became strained when they both showed interest in the same woman: Danica Briggs. As Sebastian dove deeper into the crime world, Gnarly was unwilling to follow. Their schism ends in a whirlwind of violence that destroys a friendship and robs Gnarly of a promising career.

End of a Friendship

A Wolf Among Wolves

Teeg Lawless is a bastion of blind violence and the unfulfilled American dream. He returns from the Vietnam War to a country divided, an estranged wife, and children he doesn’t know. His spiral is painful trip through child abuse, infidelity, and alcoholism. Every moment he seems on the verge of killing or being killed, and worse he seems split on which he desires more. Working with the Hyde family, sleeping with Danica Briggs, blacking out for days, delivering beatings, and making getaways between pitiful tearful moments at home comprise this chapter. He represents the lost generation of men who died in Vietnam long before they came home.

The End of a Marriage

Female of the Species

Danica Briggs is a femme fatale who was made by the racism and abuse she was forced to endure. Forced into addiction by thugs, she regains some semblance of self-control and power through the sexual manipulation of men. As in all noir comics, she is male-defined but Brubaker takes it one step further. He showcases the events that led her to her definition, and reveals that not only was her character male-defined but also male-created. Were it not for the horrors she was subjected to, she would have had a much different life; perhaps she would have had a normal life with Gnarly? The most intense scenes surround her pregnancy, and the scandals that stole her child.

The End of a Life

Criminal: The Dead and The Dying is a tragic look at the frailty of human character and gouges at morality in an immoral world. The volume painfully depicts the cost of clinging to principles of righteousness in the poisonous fume of lust, greed, power, and sin. In the noir comicsCriminal series, the characters that aren’t “dead” are certainly “dying.”

The fourth volume of the critically acclaimed Scalped series was full of powerful turning points and reversals in the story-line. Jason Aaron’s Indian Reservation-centric thriller is THE comic that all other noir comics are measured against. There honestly could not have been a more perfect title for this chapter of the story, because it’s gut wrenching and deeply disturbing. Before launching into an analysis of what I felt the most important aspects of this volume, I would like to say that it was nearly impossible to locate in the first place. I checked amazon.com and they were sold out, when placing the order they said that it would ship within 2-3 months. Additionally, they had NO OTHER sellers at the time that were providing this comic in its used state or otherwise. So I located a completely separate online comic book seller that had one issue left in stock and I purchased it again. That’s right, I purchased it from amazon (expecting to wait) and from the separate seller I had found who guaranteed delivery within 3-5 business days. Well, 3 weeks later I had still not received the comic, and all of my queries to both amazon and the other seller were going unanswered. At this point, the most infuriating thing was the fact that I had the fifth and sixth volume sitting on my shelf, but I didn’t want to skip a section of the story. Eventually, at the beginning of the fourth week it finally came, and I was able to dive in hungrily (and then the other copy came a week later).

There were essentially five events that I found to be extremely significant in this noir comic. I’ll give you a brief overview of each.

Minutes before the Tragedy

First, we found out why Carol Red Crow hates her father, and how his cronies caused the death of her baby. The father of the child had stolen money from the Chief, and was trying to leave the rez with Carol and his unborn grandchild. While they were on the road out of town, Red Crow’s men pulled alongside them and began raining bullets on them (not knowing that Carol was in the car). They eviscerated Carol’s beau, and a stray bullet plunged into her womb, instantly killing the child. Since then, Carol has had no interest in a relationship with her father, and has gone off the deep end in the drug world.

Suicide isn't the answer

Second, Dashiell Bad Horse almost kills himself. He had been reminiscing about his childhood, and a time when his father had shown up at his house completely wasted. His dad proceeded to do cocaine in front of him, and said “I don’t ever wanna catch you doing this shit you hear?”

another bad decision, learning to use drugs

Third, Dashiell’s self destructive tendencies take their final plunge when he asks Carol (who he’s been sleeping with) to show him how to do heroin.

“Tapping into the heart of noir, Jason Aaron tells a story that is really many stories, and which all have the same ending. It doesn’t get much more inevitable than knowing the ending through most of the book – but here’s the key… you don’t care. You turn each page just as fast, maybe faster, wanting to know how each character winds their way toward that conclusion. And that’s why I love noir, and why Scalped is a work of art.” – Ed Brubaker, January 2009

On his way to make deliveries

Fourth, Dino Poor Bear starts doing shady deliveries for the police in order to make money for his family. This leads him to being in various horrible situations.

praying for the first time in a long while

And finally, Chief Red Crow reaches a turning point and decides to take his reservation back.

Scalped: The Gravel in Your Guts is a very hard noir comic to read because every character is plunging deeper and deeper into their bad decisions and the consequences they are incurring appear to be overwhelming any possible hope for a brighter future. Jason Aaron refuses to pull any punches, and constantly brutalizes his characters. I’m reminded of a quote from Kurt Vonnegut, he said of writing a story: “Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.” Noir comics are written by sadists.

A parting note, R.M. Guera and Davide Furno deliver BIG TIME in every issue. I’m never disappointed.

Instead of pursuing this review in my normal fashion, which is to analyze each volume of a noir comic with its own posting, I have determined to mix things up; Here I will provide one paragraph on each of the seven volumes of the Frank Miller classic Sin City. This review will not be a regurgitation of plot lines or summary, instead it will focus on the noir aspects of the work as a whole both pleasing and displeasing. Having freshly devoured the entire series within a span of two weeks, I feel qualified to approach Sin City with a critical and subjective eye.

1) The Hard Goodbye

Frank Miller’s series begins with ferocity. Immediately the reader is immersed in a world where sexual ecstasy and violence drip off the walls like wet paint. Within this seedy underworld our first anti-hero, Marv, staggers angrily out of the inciting incident; the murder of the only woman who ever loved him. Marv’s strengths are as impressive as his weaknesses are redeeming. He is on heavy prescription medications because he is prone to confusion and hallucination, his brutal strength makes him the frequent victim and perpetrator of horrific trauma, and he is as gentle as a kitten when dealing with the fairer sex. He is the most perfect anti-hero in any of the noir comics I have read.

via digitalcomicnews.com

2) A Dame To Kill For

The second volume of Sin City paints a beautifully cruel portrait of the femme fatale archetype. The reader watches Dwight, a clean-cut, reformed alcoholic, slowly lose his self-control and self-respect to the subtle and conniving influence of the wicked Ava. Her goddess like beauty coupled with her luciferic sexual rhetoric eventually dominates Dwight, and leads him to commit the irreversible sin of murder. An intensely entertaining and frighteningly dark noir plot.

via mk-goldenmoon.com

3) The Big Fat Kill

Volume three is most memorable for its sudden plot twist, where a dead grabby goon in Old Town turns out to be a hero cop and a death knell in the shaky truce that keeps the working girls safe. Sweat, desperation, and fear drive the story and tie the seedy underworld of this volume together. Most interesting are the references to the Spartans memorable battle at Thermopylae, it seems that Frank had the seeds of 300 in mind even as he was early into his Sin City saga. Also, the dialogue was near noir perfect between Jackie Boy and Dwight on the ride to the Santa Yolanda Tar Pits.

via barik.net

4) That Yellow Bastard

Frank Miller’s best comic, hands down, is Sin City volume four. Although the previous three volumes were excellent, he hits his high point in That Yellow Bastard and then never returns to it (more on that later). The reason that the story sails is because of how endearing Detective Hartigan is and how detestable Roark Junior’s pedophilia is. Additionally, the plot seems to be the least recognizable of any noir crime fiction or noir comics that I have ever read. This originality coupled with the uniquely detailed characters and dialogue makes That Yellow Bastard the black laces on the corset of Sin City.

via mk-goldenmoon.com

5) Family Values

The fifth volume is an homage to the “Miller-boner” that Frank has for the deadly female assassin Miho. I will be the first to admit that Miho is really cool, but upon closer inspection she is much more of a caricature than a character. She is a product of Asian martial art stereotypes in the same vein as Tarantino’s O-ren Ishii, and has as much depth as a cinder block. The premise of the story delivered on intrigue, but was ultimately predictable and fell flat in comparison with volume 4. Its at this phase that Nancy has completely faded from the setting, and new characters are being introduced in rapid succession. It only gets worse.

via mk-goldenmoon.com

6) Booze, Broads, and Bullets

Train-wreck. Volume six of Sin City is comprised of a collection of “one-shots” and it was horrid reading. It felt like Frank Miller was completely tired of the series; it showed in the dialogue and it showed in the artwork. Very few pages were crafted with the lust for detail of the earlier volumes, and the stories felt forced or contrived. The only redeeming aspect was the introduction of Delia, AKA “Blue Eyes.” She’s a bada**.

via mk-goldenmoon.com

7) Hell and Back

I’m met with uncomfortable and mixed feelings as I contemplate this last volume of Sin City. It had several noir aspects that I was impressed with, but again I felt like the artwork and the attention span of the author was slipping. That, coupled with the worst closing lines to any story ever (“they talked about many things.”) made me extremely sad. He seemed to introduce new characters with reckless abandon and little care paid to back story or real development. Hell and Back is as sloppy as it is disappointing. What a sorrowful dirge to such a promising canon of noir comics.

via mk-goldenmoon.com

I will always be a fan of Sin City, even if I feel it is an unpleasantly lopsided. If you are only going to read one of them, read That Yellow Bastard.